Study: FEMA Buyout Program Could be Accelerating Segregation

A new analysis of the relocation patterns of households that participate in FEMA’s flood buyout program reveals a pattern of increased racial segregation.

2 minute read

June 22, 2023, 7:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


New research into what happens to homeowners who participate in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) buyout program for flood-prone properties indicates that the program, while it encourages managed retreat in the face of rising sea levels and increased flood risks, “program outcomes look very different depending on the racial makeup of a given neighborhood.” 

“The first difference is in who takes buyouts in the first place,” Jake Bittle explains in Grist. “The average majority-white buyout area had an almost 90 percent chance of flooding by 2050, compared to as low as around 50 percent for majority-Black buyout areas. This suggests that white households only participate in the program when the flood risk around them is severe, and otherwise tend to stay put.” This could be due in part to better investment in flood mitigation infrastructure in richer areas or a better chance of selling homes through the private market rather than opting for a FEMA buyout.

Another finding reveals that households from white-majority neighborhoods are more likely to move to other white-majority areas after a buyout. Jim Elliott, lead author of the study, “believes the data shows white families in all neighborhoods using buyout money to move to wealthier and whiter areas.”

The study concludes that “FEMA money seems to grease the wheels of pre-existing processes of white flight and urban segregation, allowing white households to leave behind diversifying neighborhoods and entrench themselves in other white suburbs and towns.”

Elliott suggests the buyout program should provide additional support for low-income households so they can access a wider variety of housing in their new neighborhoods and keep a more detailed record of how the program affects participating households.

Friday, June 16, 2023 in Grist

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Google street view image of strip mall in suburban Duncanville, Texas.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall

A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

2 hours ago - Parking Reform Network

Blue tarps covering tents set up by unhoused people along chain link fence on concrete sidewalk.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work

Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

4 hours ago - Next City

Aerial tram moving along cable in hilly area in Medellin, Colombia.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle

Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.

6 hours ago - InTransition Magazine